Local Leads: 4/21/11

News you need to know

The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:

AL CAPONE TREE
Baltimore Sun: "The gift that a notorious gangster made to Union Memorial Hospital 72 years ago is still giving. The weeping cherry, known to all in the hospital community as the Capone tree, is showing its age but remains resplendent and fertile with its glorious spring blossoms, abundant seedlings and rich wood. The tree donated by Al Capone lost a hefty limb in the 2010 snow storms. The toppled branch left a gaping hole halfway up the trunk and raised concerns for the longstanding landmark on East 33rd Street. The hospital called in an arborist who found the tree "in general decline."

PLEA IN UTENSIL FIGHT
Fredericksburg.com: " A man who sliced his renter's arm because he didn't want him using his kitchen utensils pleaded guilty to a felony yesterday. John Robert Gass, 64, was convicted of malicious wounding in Stafford County Circuit Court.  As part of a plea agreement, he received a six-year prison term with all but time already served suspended."

CHICKEN SAGA COMES TO AN END
Insidenova.com: "The clucking over chickens is finished in Prince William County, at least for now. After months of hand wringing over a zoning text amendment regarding the keeping of domestic fowl, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday on a staff plan that creates a chicken safe zone while placing strict parameters on those chicken-owners living outside that area. Within the newly created Domestic Fowl Overlay District, chickens and other similar birds will be allowed on agricultural or semi-rural zoned properties one acre or larger. However, those living on semi-rural parcels will have to apply for a special use permit that could potentially cost them more than $100." 

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